Join us in commemorating PLA’s 75th Anniversary

The Public Library Association (PLA) will officially turn 75 years old on Oct. 13, 2019, and the entire public library field is encouraged to be a part of PLA’s 75th Anniversary celebration. From now through the PLA 2020 Conference, we will recognize this milestone by reflecting on our storied history, commemorating our achievements, honoring the people who have contributed to our success and preparing for an even brighter future.

PLA is people shaping possibility.People are moved to work in the public library because of its unique and unparalleled ability to help anyone learn, do, and grow. Our mission is just as clear: cultivate a community of talented public library professionals where anyone can contribute, and everyone can grow. PLA is where leadership, kinship and innovation combine to create possibility for public library people. Because as you shape an essential institution, you deserve an indispensable ally. Learn more at PLA.org.

PLA Impact

You Learned

In the last 5 years, PLA has provided over 75 hours of e-learning to over 8,000 attendees.

In the last 5 years, PLA has offered over 1,000 continuing education opportunities and events.

Public Libraries magazine has an average of 40,000 readers per issue, and over half a million page views of Public Libraries Online per year.

91% of attendees of PLA continuing education programs have learned something that they intend to apply at their library. *based on evaluation responses.

You Gave

Over 2,000 people have volunteered for a PLA Committee, Advisory/Working Group, Task Force or other official role since 1988.

Since 2012, over 1,000 volunteer speakers have presented at PLA programs.

We Grew

PLA has launched 20 initiatives over the last 20 years, doubling the amount of initiatives in the last 5 years alone.

Over 40,000 early childhood literacy surveys have been collected in PLA’s Project Outcome from over 500 public libraries across the U.S. and Canada.

Donate

Help us reach our goal! For PLA’s 75th Anniversary, we are aiming to raise $7,500 to fund scholarships for the PLA 2020 Conference. All funds donated to PLA between April and July 2019 will be used to fund the scholarships. During this period, all PLA donors will automatically be entered into a raffle for a free PLA 2020 Conference registration.